


Paraplexis

by BluePlanetTrash



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Disabled Character, Disabled Lance (Voltron), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Neurological Disorders, Paraplexis, Sick Lance (Voltron), Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 11:49:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13480863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluePlanetTrash/pseuds/BluePlanetTrash
Summary: Lance had always known that someday his disorder was going to get the best of him. He worked extremely hard to be able to keep it under control and act normal, but sometimes it just isn't enough. Maybe he really was defective...





	Paraplexis

When Lance was a little kid, he was told that he was going to die young. Not in those exact words, it was broken to him gently. His mother told him that there were times that he wouldn’t be able to move very well and that was about it. It wasn’t until he was in middle school that he learned just what he actually had.

Paraplexis.

He never really knew much about the disease until his parents decided to sit him down and fully explain it to him.

Paraplexis was a neurological disorder that resulted in the paralyzation of the lower exterminates at times of high stress. Eventually, the paralyzation would travel higher and higher until he wouldn’t be able to move at all at those times. They were optimistic though and told him that at these times as long as he took his medication he would be able to move again just fine, or he could wait for feeling to return to his limbs. They didn’t mention that the disorder was slowly killing him either.

He already knew that.

They took him to see people that would help him keep calm during times of high stress before he attended the Garrison since he was adamant about going. His parents were against it but he didn’t want to die while doing nothing with his life. He was actually so good at handling the stress that no one in the Garrison had ever witnessed one of his attacks. He was able to use the warning white spots in his vision to his advantage and escape to his room before he collapsed on the floor or on his bed.

The first time any of his friends had actually seen Lance collapse was during a training exercise on the Castle.

Shiro brought up the military type training they had gone through at the Garrison specifically the CQB tests they were required to take. Coran thought that the idea was splendid and quickly whipped up something that looked eerily similar to the Garrison’s setup.

Now normally, Lance would have no problem taking a CQB test at the Garrison. He was used to the instructors yelling and insulting them as they got into each position. It was different when his friends were the ones screaming abuse at him.

“LET’S GO CADET NEXT POSITION!” Shiro hollered, fully engrossed in his Iverson position. From the sidelines, he could hear Hunk, Pidge, and Keith jeering at him as well. He sprinted to the next spot, opening fire at the gladiators and watched them fall to the ground, he spun when he felt a hit connect on his shoulder and hit the gladiator in the face with the butt of his gun.

“YOU’RE FALLING BEHIND, NEXT POSITION!” His heart was hammering in his chest as he spun towards the next mark. His stomach clenched with nerves, at this rate he would have the slowest time. Again.

He sprinted to the last mark and fired on the bots. As they fell to the ground, he turned to look at Shiro. He was holding a ticker in his hand and pushed the button to stop. Shiro sighed and turned it to show Lance.

Exactly fifty ticks.

They decided on the minimum of forty ticks for the time limit and everyone else had gotten that time in one or two turns, except for Lance. He had gone through the course at least five times now and his best time had been forty-five ticks.

“Go again,” Shiro said dismissively, resetting the ticker. Lance nodded glumly and jogged back to the beginning. As he stood ready to start he couldn’t help the thoughts that ran through his head. He shook his head trying to keep focused on the exercise and aiming at the bots as he ran through the course.

If he couldn’t even get through a training exercise in enough time; how was he supposed to save people? He would be too late to help them. People were going to die because he couldn’t run fast enough. He wasn’t quick like Keith or Pidge and he wasn’t strong like Hunk and Shiro, he didn’t have anything to give to the team.

“NEXT POSITION!” Shiro’s voice broke him from his thoughts and he rushed to the next mark. The white spots that clouded his vision were the only warning he had before his legs buckled underneath him and he toppled to the ground.

His bayard slid away from him and deactivated with a glimmer of light. A loud snort came from the sidelines before breaking into laughter. He could even hear Shiro chuckling a little bit. He didn’t blame them, he would laugh too, they didn’t know after all. Despite knowing that, tears still welled up in his eyes and he clenched his teeth as he tried to get up. He could push himself up with his arms but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get his legs to move. He grimaced but let himself flop over onto his back and stare at the ceiling, tears rolling into his ears. The laughter faded off, probably as they watched him struggle to get up.

“Lance?” Hunk called, concern evident in his voice. He turned his head slightly, enough to see a large shape approaching him hesitantly. He tried to give him a welcoming smile but he could already feel his chin wrinkling up.

“Oh, Lance,” Hunk sighed as he kneeled beside him. He pushed his fingers through his hair soothingly.

“What happened Lance?” Shiro asked worried, kneeling on his other side. Keith and Pidge filled in the gaps and watched him with nervous eyes.

“I have paraplexis,” he admitted after a tense few seconds. Their concerned faces immediately changed to confusion and he couldn’t help but let out a snort.

“What is that?” Keith asked.

“An incredibly rare neurological disorder that reacts to the presence of high levels of cortisol, when I get stressed I lose all feeling in my legs,” he summarized quickly.

“Well, how do we fix it?” Pidge asked looking over him quickly.

“I used to have medicine that would get rid of symptoms but I don’t have any, it will go any on it’s own though,” he explained, reaching up to ruffle her hair.

“How have you been able to keep this a secret from us?” Shiro asked in amazement.

“A lot of practice, I mean I’ve lived with this my entire life,” he laughed, resting the side of his face against Shiro’s knee. “I really didn’t realize that there was anything wrong with me until I was seven or eight though,”

* * *

_Lance didn’t really know what was happening around the house. All he knew, was that his family was constantly over and they were crying a lot. The adults hadn’t really talked to the kids about what was happening and frankly, they were trying to avoid them all together._

_As the time went on though, he could see how much of an effect it was having on his parents and his older siblings, even his Aunts and Uncles. Slowly it started to affect his cousins, the ones that were the same age as him. Then finally him._

_He still hadn’t been aware of what was happening, but one morning he woke up and he couldn’t get out of his bed. He could still hear his family down the hall crying over something he had no knowledge about. He didn’t want to bother them, so he didn’t try to call out for his parents. Thankfully though, his mamá was worried about him not showing up for breakfast and went looking for him._

_“Lance? Why aren’t you at breakfast?” She asked after peeking her head in. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she still tried to give him a comforting smile._

_“I can’t get up mamá,” he admitted quietly. Her face dropped and she rushed over. Gently, she lifted him up from under his arms, watching hopelessly as his legs stayed limp. Lance wrapped his arms around her neck as she carried him out of the room and to the table where she sat him down and placed his breakfast in front of him._

_As he dug into his food; Rosa dragged Cortez out of the room._

_“Why did you carry Lance in here? He’s already seven years old,” he said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. Rosa, however, was anything but amused._

_“He can’t move his legs,” she told him quietly. “The stress is getting to the kids now,”_

_Cortez’s breath hitched and he looked back over to the kitchen. The kids were smiling lively as they always were but in their eyes, he could see nervousness. They still hadn’t told them what happened, trying to save them the grief but it seems like it hadn’t worked as well as they hoped._

_“The funeral is tomorrow, we can hold out until then,” Cortez reasoned. Rosa nodded in agreement and they headed back to the kitchen._

_They had no way of knowing that Lance would collapse again at the funeral when he found out his favourite tío had passed away._

* * *

“I actually had to be carried around like that for a while because I would get stressed whenever I saw pictures of him,” he admitted. “I got used to it though, especially when I decided to go to the Garrison,”

“It sounds terrible,” Keith said bluntly.

“Well, it’s just something I have to live with now,” he shrugged. Experimentally, he tried to kick his leg out and smiled when it did just that. With a grunt, he hauled himself back up and stretched.

“All right! Let’s do this!” He cheered summoning his bayard and racing back to the beginning. They watched him in shock for a second before sighing good-naturedly and returning to their previous positions.

If Lance said he was fine, they’d give him the benefit of the doubt.

* * *

Lance gritted his teeth as he manoeuvred Blue through the swarms of Galra fighters. They had been contacted by a planet that was on the verge of being invaded and arrived just in time to stop them from touching down on the planet. With a well-aimed laser from Blue, the main cruiser was forced to retreat from the surface and send out jets instead.

With every hit against the Lions, the fighters pushed to get to the surface.

“Lance! Don’t let any of them reach the planet!” Shiro ordered before shooting off to another area. Lance could barely get a word of understanding out before several fighters shot forward, trying to take advantage of the lack of force.

“No, you don’t!” Lance yelled pushing forward, expertly shooting each of them. But with every batch down, another swarm replaced it. His breath started getting thin in his lungs as he whipped Blue around. Even as his vision started getting spotty, he forced himself to focus on his job, trusting Blue to make up for any straying shots.

“Good work team! Let’s go meet the locals,” Shiro’s voice finally called over the coms. Lance let out a massive sigh of relief and slumped back in his seat. His vision was completely white and he let Blue take control and gently drop them on the planet. He frantically tried to blink the whiteness from his eyes but it was no use. Blue’s mouth opened and footsteps climbed up the ramp.

“Lance?” Shiro asked peeking into the cockpit. Lance glanced back over the seat, just barely making out the blurry figure of Shiro walking towards him.

“Paraplexis,” he said as an explanation. Shiro hummed in understanding and rested his hand on the back of Lance’s chair.

“Do you want us to wait? Or, I could carry you to the celebration,” Shiro offered. Lance perked up at that.

“There’s a celebration?” He asked with excitement.

“Yes, they were really quick about setting one up,” he laughed.

“Well, let’s go then!” he cheered. Shiro let out a bark of laughter but crouched down and slung Lance over his shoulder. Lance let out a squawk and hung limply over his shoulder as they made their way out of Blue’s mouth.

“Rude Shiro,” he pouted.

“Hey, it was either this or the princess carry,” he defended himself.

“You know I would have loved the princess carry, don’t try to deny that,” he grumbled. “You just want me to look at your butt didn’t you?” he smirked looking down at the ground.

“I know you can’t see right now,” Shiro deadpanned.

“Irrelevant, it’s the thought that counts,”

“I’m not giving you a present,”

“You would have been if I could see,”

“There you guys are!” Hunk called before either of them could say something else. “Why is Lance on your shoulder?”

“Paraplexis,” they chorused. Hunk nodded in agreement and led Shiro to a table to sit Lance down at.

“Do you want me to go get you a drink or something? Would it help?” Hunk asked fluttering nervously around the paladin.

“Thanks, buddy, that would be great,” he said looking over in the direction of his voice.

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” he said walking away through the crowd.

“I’m going to go find Allura, she’s probably talking with the leader,” Shiro said placing his hand on Lance’s shoulder. He nodded his head in response and headed away. He idly traced his finger on the surface of the table and blinked trying to clear his vision. By then he could see almost perfectly except for a faint blur.

“Hey look, there’s the Blue Paladin,” someone snorted. He barely suppressed a flinch and stared down at the table pretending he hadn’t heard them. They didn’t exactly sound friendly.

“Did you see the way the Black Paladin had to carry him in?” Another one chimed in with a giggle. A flush filled Lance’s face.

“What business does someone like that have on Team Voltron?”

“If I had a defective paladin like that, I would have kicked them off of my team a long time ago,”

They said it so casually. Like it was completely obvious.

“Why is he even a paladin?”

_I don’t know._

He was startled by the appearance of a glass under his nose.

“You okay?” Hunk asked, his brow quirked slightly.

“Huh? Oh, yeah! Yeah, I’m good!” He brushed it off and went to his drink instead.

“Okay…” Hunk trailed off, sitting next to him.

As Lance drank he watched the group of aliens move on. Even if they knew that he was listening, it didn’t seem to have bothered them. Maybe because they only spoke the truth.

* * *

If he thought that would be the last time he was seen as a defective paladin, he was wrong. It was just the beginning.

He collapsed against a tree while trying to defend some of the planet’s residents. Even as he shot the blurry figures of the Galra away from them, they looked at him as if he had personally offended them. As soon as the danger was taken care of they left him where he was. Hunk walked by later and hurried over to him, talking a mile a minute about how worried everybody was when they couldn’t find him.

He stopped hoping that he wouldn’t be seen as useless after that mission. He worked harder than he ever had before. Trying to focus completely on the mission but there was always that little voice of the aliens in the back of his head that would shoot his anxiety to the peak and before he knew it, he would be on the ground, desperately blinking the whiteness from his eyes or blindly flying Blue through the skies.

Even the team was starting to realize how much more often he was losing control. Eventually, one day he collapsed during a sparring exercise.

“End training sequence,” Shiro called. They gathered around Lance as he struggled to pull himself to his feet.

“I can do it,” he insisted clawing at the ground. Shiro sighed and dragging him up to rest on his arm.

“This has been happening more often, it there anything we can do to help?” He asked.

“I’m not defective,” Lance spat, his shoulders were trembling all the way down to his hands.

“What? No one said that you were,” Keith objected glancing around at everyone in confusion. At that Lance’s hands curled into fists and he stared down at his lap.

“You didn’t have to, the aliens did it for you and they’re right. I am defective, I shouldn’t be a paladin,” he rasped, his eyes were filling with tears at the very thought of leaving the team.

“Of course you should be a paladin! Don’t listen to what they say, they don’t know anything about you and what you’ve done!” Pidge argued, shaking Lance’s shoulders.

“But I’m just holding you back,” he tried.

“Don’t. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t even be here helping these people,” Keith said. “I tried bonding with Blue for months and she only activated when you were there, why did that happen?”

“Because I’m her paladin,” Lance replied quietly.

“Damn right you are!” Keith nodded his head in finality.

“Don’t forget that you saved an entire planet! What would have happened if you weren’t there?” Hunk asked with a big grin.

“You would have been mind-swished,”

“You saved my life Lance, mine and countless others,” He said softly.

“And don’t forget Sendak, you woke up just to shoot him and save me, what do you think would have happened if you didn’t?” Pidge coaxed.

“It would have been harder to catch him off guard?” He suggested not actually sure of his answer.

“Wrong. We wouldn’t have been able to win at all. He had me, hostage, no one would have been able to move, but you saved us, Lance!” She insisted. He looked at them all with wide eyes.

“Lance, you did all of this while fighting your own body, that’s something none of us would have been able to do,” Shiro said.

Lance stared at them in shock. A small whine crawled up his throat and he curled into his chest as tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Thank you, thank you so much,” he choked out. They watched him with gentle smiles on their faces, they quickly transformed into their own tears though and they rushed forward to wrap their arms around him.

“Never think that about yourself Lance, you’re so strong,” Shiro pleaded, pressing his face into Lance’s hair.

“Don’t listen to them, Lance!” Pidge added from where she was wrapped around his arm.

“If they can’t see how important you are, then they don’t deserve to be saved by you,” Keith rasped, his head pressed against Lance’s chest.

“You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met,” Hunk cried squeezing all of them in his arms. Even as Lance sobbed and tears and snot covered his face, he knew that he was the happiest person in the entire universe.

All his life, he had been suffering and fighting his body to be normal. He didn’t have to do that anymore, not when he had people that understood how strong he really was. He wasn’t defective. He never was. Now he knew it too.

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me at my Tumblr too!: https://blueplanettrash.tumblr.com/


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